New Revised Standard NRS
Revised Standard Version RSV
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan—in the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.
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These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Haze'roth, and Di' -zahab.
2 (By the way of Mount Seir it takes eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from Horeb.)
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It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Se'ir to Ka'desh-bar'nea.
3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the Israelites just as the Lord had commanded him to speak to them.
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And in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them,
4 This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei.
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after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ash'taroth and in Ed're-i.
5 Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law as follows:
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Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying,
6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
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"The LORD our God said to us in Horeb, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain;
7 Resume your journey, and go into the hill country of the Amorites as well as into the neighboring regions—the Arabah, the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
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turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland, and in the Negeb, and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphra'tes.
8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land that I swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them."
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Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.'
9 At that time I said to you, "I am unable by myself to bear you.
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"At that time I said to you, 'I am not able alone to bear you;
10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars of heaven.
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the LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times more and bless you, as he has promised you!
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May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you, as he has promised you!
12 But how can I bear the heavy burden of your disputes all by myself?
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How can I bear alone the weight and burden of you and your strife?
13 Choose for each of your tribes individuals who are wise, discerning, and reputable to be your leaders."
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Choose wise, understanding, and experienced men, according to your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.'
14 You answered me, "The plan you have proposed is a good one."
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And you answered me, 'The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.'
15 So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and reputable individuals, and installed them as leaders over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officials, throughout your tribes.
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So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes.
16 I charged your judges at that time: "Give the members of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien.
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And I charged your judges at that time, 'Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien that is with him.
17 You must not be partial in judging: hear out the small and the great alike; you shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. Any case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it."
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You shall not be partial in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike; you shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's; and the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.'
18 So I charged you at that time with all the things that you should do.
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And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.
19 Then, just as the Lord our God had ordered us, we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, until we reached Kadesh-barnea.
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"And we set out from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Ka'desh-bar'nea.
20 I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
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And I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God gives us.
21 See, the Lord your God has given the land to you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you; do not fear or be dismayed."
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Behold, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you; do not fear or be dismayed.'
22 All of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us and bring back a report to us regarding the route by which we should go up and the cities we will come to."
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Then all of you came near me, and said, 'Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.'
23 The plan seemed good to me, and I selected twelve of you, one from each tribe.
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The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men of you, one man for each tribe;
24 They set out and went up into the hill country, and when they reached the Valley of Eshcol they spied it out
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and they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out.
25 and gathered some of the land's produce, which they brought down to us. They brought back a report to us, and said, "It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us."
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And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, 'It is a good land which the LORD our God gives us.'
26 But you were unwilling to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;
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"Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God;
27 you grumbled in your tents and said, "It is because the Lord hates us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us.
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and you murmured in your tents, and said, 'Because the LORD hated us he has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
28 Where are we headed? Our kindred have made our hearts melt by reporting, "The people are stronger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified up to heaven! We actually saw there the offspring of the Anakim!' "
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Whither are we going up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there."'
29 I said to you, "Have no dread or fear of them.
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Then I said to you, 'Do not be in dread or afraid of them.
30 The Lord your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes,
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The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
31 and in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as one carries a child, all the way that you traveled until you reached this place.
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and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God bore you, as a man bears his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.'
32 But in spite of this, you have no trust in the Lord your God,
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Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the LORD your God,
33 who goes before you on the way to seek out a place for you to camp, in fire by night, and in the cloud by day, to show you the route you should take."
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who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.
34 When the Lord heard your words, he was wrathful and swore:
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"And the LORD heard your words, and was angered, and he swore,
35 "Not one of these—not one of this evil generation—shall see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,
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'Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers,
36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his descendants I will give the land on which he set foot, because of his complete fidelity to the Lord."
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except Caleb the son of Jephun'neh; he shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land upon which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the LORD!'
37 Even with me the Lord was angry on your account, saying, "You also shall not enter there.
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The LORD was angry with me also on your account, and said, 'You also shall not go in there;
38 Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, shall enter there; encourage him, for he is the one who will secure Israel's possession of it.
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Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter; encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
39 And as for your little ones, who you thought would become booty, your children, who today do not yet know right from wrong, they shall enter there; to them I will give it, and they shall take possession of it.
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Moreover your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall go in there, and to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
40 But as for you, journey back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea."
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But as for you, turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.'
41 You answered me, "We have sinned against the Lord! We are ready to go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us." So all of you strapped on your battle gear, and thought it easy to go up into the hill country.
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"Then you answered me, 'We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.' And every man of you girded on his weapons of war, and thought it easy to go up into the hill country.
42 The Lord said to me, "Say to them, "Do not go up and do not fight, for I am not in the midst of you; otherwise you will be defeated by your enemies.' "
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And the LORD said to me, 'Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in the midst of you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.'
43 Although I told you, you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
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So I spoke to you, and you would not hearken; but you rebelled against the command of the LORD, and were presumptuous and went up into the hill country.
44 The Amorites who lived in that hill country then came out against you and chased you as bees do. They beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah.
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Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Se'ir as far as Hormah.
45 When you returned and wept before the Lord, the Lord would neither heed your voice nor pay you any attention.
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And you returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD did not hearken to your voice or give ear to you.
46 After you had stayed at Kadesh as many days as you did,
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So you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.